


Peace

by tully



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tully/pseuds/tully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>just a really fluffy drabble about washington being a big softy with the kiddo</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peace

It was those soft kisses that always made Ben weak at the knees. The man had a talent for making him feel like he was dissolving.

He was good at catching him, though, if Ben ever actually lost balance. Ben found it odd that the man was a good few inches taller than him and a much larger presence, a much more weathered and hardened spirit, and still managed to kiss him as though he were afraid Ben would shatter. Ben felt paralyzed, he felt galvanized; all sorts of chemical lightning traveled through him in waves when the other man touched him so softly. Ben thought he had known what he was getting into--he had been in relationships before--but like so many other times, all the general did was catch him off guard and expose how vulnerably in love he really was. 

Often, Ben will sit without really listening at a table of other officers, with the general to his right, speaking in his deep and deliberate tones. That voice would travel through the wood of the table and vibrate comfortably in Ben's chest; he was peaceful, with that sound flowing through his consciousness, without even hearing anything the man was saying. Despite all the flutterings, despite all the blushing and giddiness and excitement, he was at peace around the general. His inner demons melted away and a stillness replaced them, one he had never felt before. 

He had underestimated, too, how comfortable Washington would be with showing affection. At times he would take Ben's face in his large, warm hands and trace his cheeks gently with his thumbs; Ben would close his eyes, feeling comforted, feeling as though those soft caresses were massaging away his doubts and anxieties and fears, and then the general would kiss him. It was gentle and somewhat devoid of the passion Ben had grown accustomed to seeing in a partner, but somehow the softness made it all the more intimate. Sometimes a lump would rise in his throat, and as he returned the general's kiss, tears would prick his eyes. He could not say why, but the man's quiet and passive nature brought him a peace he had thought he would never find, and oh, was it stunning.

Once, he had failed to keep those tears from falling, and Washington had immediately been concerned; asking if he was alright, if he had hurt him (as though he ever could), his eyes darting worriedly over Ben's face. And Ben would grin, shake his head, let his head fall against the other man's chest. "You just make me so happy," he had said, and Washington would rest his cheek quietly on his hair, stroking his back, saying he could never hope to make Ben as happy as Ben made him. Ben would shut him up after that. The general's self-deprecation was becoming something of a catalyst for kisses.

The general had likely been a little startled in those early stages, this being somewhat untrodden territory for him; Ben was so energetic, so enthusiastic to share affection, that Washington was reminded of how old he had become, and all those years of his life that were gone. Little by little, however, Ben was peeling away those layers of his life, chipping at the burdens of his memories, unclipping his wings. Sometimes he felt that he was merely making things harder on the boy--why should he have to suffer for his regrets?--but Ben was always sure to assure him otherwise. He was so earnest, that boy... Washington felt it would be a disservice not to take him at his word.

"I love you," Ben would say, unabashed and forward, as young boys are. His bright warmth made him the sun, one that would kiss him when he felt ashamed, one unhindered of darker years, one that did not resist his asymmetries and inconsistencies. Washington understood now why his heart felt so claustrophobic in its cage when he watched those bright eyes trace his, wanting to remember him, wanting to be near him. "I love you, too," he would whisper. And he did.

**Author's Note:**

> this is kind of an exploration of what a romantic relationship b/t these two would look like... my friend stina and I have the headcanon that wash is actually very affectionate but in a quiet, passive kinda way. i'm sorry it's so mushy
> 
> in other news, I'm still starved of interactions b/t these two


End file.
